The Gulf of Suez is the main oil province in Egypt, with oil being produced from Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks. The Miocene sediments are the most prolific hydrocarbon-bearing sequences both in onshore and offshore fields. Major research activities have been so far concentrated on structural geology, geophysics, organic geochemistry, stratigraphy, and micropaleontology. In contrast, very little has been published on the Miocene palynology from this region. A comprehensive palynological investigation on the GH 404-2A Well (southern part of the Gulf of Suez), comprising the Miocene Rudeis and Kareem formations of the Gharandal Group has produced diverse palynomorph assemblages. They contain dinocysts, spores, pollen, algae, fungal palynomorphs, scolecodonts and microforaminiferal linings. For the first time in Egypt, the present study introduces a detailed systematic overview of the palynomorphs with respect to their biostratigraphy and paleoenvironment within this time interval. Biostratigraphically, three dinocyst and one sporomorph biozones are established and correlated with other Miocene schemes from Egypt and other areas worldwide. In addition, the palynomorphs are used to get further insights both into the adjacent land vegetation and climate of the Gulf of Suez area, during the Miocene, and relate these paleoenvironmental conditions to depositional processes in the Gulf of Suez basin.

The oil shale of the Middle Eocene Messel Formation as exposed in the Messel Pit near Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany, is a famous and widely known source for extremely well preserved fossils documenting a wealth of terrestrial biota. For this reason the Messel Pit Fossil Site was awarded the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site documenting the ecosystem on the European mainland which existed under a paratropical climate during Paleogene greenhouse conditions. A survey of the extensive fruit and seed collections from the Middle Eocene oil shale of the Messel Formation now reveals at least 140 genera, representing more than 34 families of seed plants. The flora includes occasional conifer and numerous angiosperm remains. There are 34 extant angiosperm families represented of which ten are new records for Messel, plus 65 morphotypes of unknown familial affinity. Three extant genera are recorded for the first time from the Paleogene. The assemblage indicates a wide range of dispersal strategies including pods, capsules, explosive dehiscence, a single arillate seed, two seed-types with dispersal hairs and most modern categories of winged disseminules. In terms of mammalian frugivory the flora contains examples of all potential dietary categories. Tough and hard materials are abundant and soft material is common. Gut contents preserved in many birds and mammals prove that fruits and seeds played an integral part in vertebrate diets and borings in one seed type indicate seed predation by weevils. Previous quantitative studies suggesting an equable warm and humid palaeoclimate with some seasonality for Messel are supported by the newly recognised taxa. Judging from the habit of related living taxa, the vegetation appears to have been a multilevel canopy forest, including a high proportion of lianas in addition to shrubby to arborescent taxa. Herbaceous components are also present but relatively underrepresented. Among other large and well-studied Eocene macrofloras, the Messel assemblage shows overlap with the genera known from the London Clay flora of England and the Clarno Nut Beds Flora of Oregon, but relatively little similarity with floras known from eastern Asia. Compared with extant floras, the Messel flora includes a temperate component with mostly Asian endemics, and some genera that are now disjunctly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. A large tropical-paratropical component includes genera now confined to the Old World tropics, particularly southeastern Asia and Malaysia, but there are also a few exclusively Neotropical elements. Altogether, the Messel flora can be regarded as one of the most diverse Paleogene floras worldwide.

Larvae of the neotropical frog family Centrolenidae live hidden on the bottom of rivers between stones, gravel, and leaf litter. Their lotic fossorial behavior makes it impossible to find and study these tadpoles in their natural environment. Therefore, presently only poor reports and descriptions of them are available in the literature.

In the present study all known 13 Costa Rican centrolenid species (or taxa) were reared under laboratory conditions. Their live tadpoles are described in different stages of their development. Six of the 13 descriptions are new (Cochranella euknemos, Sachatamia albomaculata, Sachatamia ilex, Hyalinobatrachium chirripoi, Hyalinobatrachium talamancae and Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum). A species key and detailed diagnostic descriptions with abundant illustrations allow the identification of tadpoles of the thirteen species.